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Here We Go !! - Music Player Live!


Bill Leigh

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Sorry for the "spam," guys, but MPL is shaping up to be pretty exciting bass-wise.

 

T.M.'s workshop will be on Sunday afternoon. The lineup now includes Gerald Veasley, Ron Carter, Doug Wimbish, Dave Ellefson, Berklee prof. Bruce Gertz, Broadway hiring guru John Miller, and T.M. Stevens. Plus, we'll be presenting BP Lifetime Achievement Awards to Ron Carter and Jack Bruce during the Saturday night concert, and many of the above names and more will likely be at our happy hour Friday from 3 to 6 on the 15th Floor.

 

We had a great turnout from Low Down Lowdown last year. Hope to meet even more of you guys next weekend.

 

Let me know if you've got any questions.

 

Bill

Bill Leigh, Editor in Chief

BASS PLAYER

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I'm definitely in for the Friday 3-6. Should be lots of fun. I'm thinking of having a full-on debate with Jon on review strategy.

 

I think we've got a few going. If any of you in the NYC area can see your way clear, please let us know. We love to meet forum folks (and editorial folks).

 

(Shhh - don't Jon - it should be a surprise :) )

 

Tom

www.stoneflyrocks.com

Acoustic Color

 

Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars and keep your feet on the ground. - Theodore Roosevelt

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"Wait'll they get a load of me" - Jack Nicholson, "Batman"

(and I have some questions...) :D C-ya-then!

 

TC: can I bring my digital camera? And should I bring an instrument of my own?

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Based on last year, there's no need to bring an instrument. Definitely bring the camera. My goal is to get pics of as many friends as possible (and I'm always working for an incredibly bad pic of Wraub - it just seems to happen).

 

Tom

www.stoneflyrocks.com

Acoustic Color

 

Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars and keep your feet on the ground. - Theodore Roosevelt

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I'm getting stoked !!!

 

It looks like Saturday will be the big day for forumites - I think the list includes Wraub, Maury, Willie, Fred, Mark Zeger, myself, and possibly TNB !!

 

If you are anywhere nearby and can break free for a while, it'll be worth the trip. I don't know how long the tix will be on sale, but if you are interested PM me and I'll find out. We'd love to see you.

 

Of course, an exhibit hall of gear and workshops/open interviews with some bass luminaries isn't a bad draw either. And the BP Editorial staff will be there to take our abus....er...comments. It's a great way to know you've been heard when you're talking to Bill, Chris, Jon, Greg, and Brian (and anyone else they drag along).

 

Tom

www.stoneflyrocks.com

Acoustic Color

 

Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars and keep your feet on the ground. - Theodore Roosevelt

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I will be there, camera in tow.

I anticipate being in several bad photos, all taken by Tom.

I am unsure why this is, but I can rely on it, and that means a lot.

 

Fred, I saw some people with their own instruments last year, but if it's the same or bigger this time, I'd say skip it.

There should be ample trial toys.

Bring your camera and something to snack on.

 

Looking forward to seeing you all...

 

Peace,

 

wraub

 

I'm a lot more like I am now than I was when I got here.

 

 

 

 

 

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Looking forward to seein' my LDL peeps and meetin' some of the editorial staff. I'm hoping that Jon Maghini of M Basses will have some of his lovely instruments there again this year. Maybe I can finger a fanned fret Dingwall more thoughtfully this time around. I'm also hoping to give a Cirrus 6-string (if Peavey is represented), which I failed to do last year.

 

I will also try to get up to speed on home recording gear.

 

I can't be there on Sunday, but I'm hoping that I can leave a note with someone to give to B'way bassist/music director/hiring guy Johnny Miller. I'm not looking for work, but I did meet Johnny when I was but a wee lad, and I'd love to say, "Hey." He's a way cool cat.

 

Any more scoop on the 15th floor "happy hour" on Friday. I doubt I can make it, but I'd like to try to stop by between 5-6pm.

 

I'm trying to get there by 10am on Saturday, for the opening of the doors.

 

Peace.

--Dub $$

spreadluv

 

Fanboy? Why, yes! Nordstrand Pickups and Guitars.

Messiaen knew how to parlay the funk.

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It was great to meet Mark Zeger and tnb today. Outstandingly nice fellahs. It would not be a stretch to say that it was truly an honor to spend time with them.

 

Thank you tnb for making me want an MTD. There were two killer 5-strings there -- an ash w/ maple board and a chambered alder w/ walnut top (ebony board?). Both were among the finest instruments I've ever played.

 

Greatly enjoyed lunch at a local diner w/ Capasso, Nicklab, tnb, getz76, and a septagenarian female who dared to sit next to us at the counter. And periodically jumped into our conversation -- odd, no?

 

Also nice to meet Mike Dimin. I bought his first book about the chordal approach from him at the show and he taught Tom and me quite a bit about EA amplification. He also treated us to a serious loop fest via a Boomerang on a little Stevie Wonder number. A gentleman for sure and someone from whose book I hope to learn a lot.

 

Doug Wimbish did a little solo performance. Pretty sick stuff. It's enough for me just to play notes on the bass, and there he is dancing across his pedals like Baryshnikov making sounds that I never thought possible from a bass. Thanks, Doug.

 

I got to have a beverage w/ tnb and Dave Beasley from The Groove Shoppe. Dave kindly listened to our instrument dreams and helped us understand what kinds of things might make them reality. I certainly appreciated his time and his thoughts.

 

Pictures were taken. Not by me. wraub took several. Maybe even one of me playing a Leo Burrell "twisted" (literally!) ABG.

 

Trace Elliot's new'n'improved head w/ 2x500W and a 12-band EQ and built-in dual band compressor is killer. The Trace rep there was too cool, and very patient with us.

 

Oh yeah, there was also a girl there (maybe 14 yrs old?) seriously throwing it down on a Sadowsky through an Ampeg 8x10. Will Lee was hangin' with her, and I'm guessin' that he's either her teacher or her dad or her uncle or something. Otherwise he is going to become her teacher! I'm serious, y'all, she was blowin' the roof off the mutha. I know that at least tnb can attest to this.

 

As always, great to see the LDL gang. I was unable to catch up with any of the BP editors (sorry, y'all).

 

Peace.

--s-uu

spreadluv

 

Fanboy? Why, yes! Nordstrand Pickups and Guitars.

Messiaen knew how to parlay the funk.

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I will add the following, if I may:

 

It was a pleasure to meet tnb and Mark Zeger and put faces to names. Nice guys, definitely a credit to bass players everywhere.

 

It was also nice to meet up again with Bill Leigh and Jonathan Herrera, who are also really cool to hang with and discuss, you know, junk and stuff.

 

I am sorry I missed the lunch hang with the guys, but I had pre-purchased the 3 day luncheon option (having noted the local dining options at last year's BPL), and was forced to dine in the hotel, where what was actually a fairly nice catered spread was waiting.

I did skip the 6 dollar beers, though. Being semi-local, I know where to drink cheaper, if needed. :)

 

It was also nice to meet Mike Dimin, who was a perfect gentleman as I repeatedly loitered in his booth. The EA amps sound really, really sweet. If I wasn't already pretty happy with my sound, and also on a budget...

 

And that girl The Right Good Funk Dr. Willie mentioned? I caught her for quite a while, at the Ampeg booth, at the Sam Ash booth, at the EA/MTD booth, etc. Here's what I saw/overheard: She did indeed apper to be around 14, she was playing a natural Sadowsky Jazz, and she was beating it up like she just caught it breaking into her house.

Solid. I understand she plays Bergantino, too.

When she was not playing, she was holding this bass by the headstock, dragging it behind her along the floor like it was a puppy not yet finished peeing.

Oh, and wearing an empty gig bag...

 

 

The Burrell instruments were really interesting, a unique design from a designer who's not a musician. I have pics to help, uh... illustrate this :) , but they are curved guitars, i.e. the tops and backs are steam bent to curve around the player, and offer a fit unlike any other guitar or bass. You really have to try 'em for yourself.

 

I took lots of pics, which I will post as soon as possible. Well, as soon as I can.

OK- soon.

 

Looking forward to tomorrow...

 

Tom, Which amp didja buy?

 

 

Peace,

 

wraub

 

I'm a lot more like I am now than I was when I got here.

 

 

 

 

 

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I was great meeting all of you guys, too: Willie, Wraub, Nick, Getz, tnb. And good to have some hang time with you again, Tom. See you in December. Tom and I heard Les Paul's stories on inventing the electric guitar and amp, the sound-on-sound and multitrack recorders, the electric toothbrush, the TV dinner, his roles in the Manhattan Project and the first NASA mission to the moon, and the Internet though Al Gore continues to take credit.

 

I took in a little bit 'o bass at a Saturday morning session with Gerald Veasley. He was grooving to some bass-less CD tracks and doing Q&A in between. During the session, a guy walked in and stood next to me in the back of the room, but I didn't recognize him. Veasley gets a big smile. They say "hi" and Veasley introduces to the room...Omar Hakim! (My vision of Omar Hakim is 20 years old...from "Bring On The Night"). Gerald said "It's too bad we don't have a set of drums here." About 3-4 guys in the room said "WE'LL GO AND GET SOME RIGHT NOW!". Too bad it didn't happen.

 

I went to the Will Lee/Felicia Collins Q&A from Apple. Spoke briefly with Will after and had a photo taken. I'll post later. Since I have the old CD from the NBC Letterman band, I asked why the CBS band has never recorded together. Lee said that Paul won't do it because that old band CD was a financial failure. You'd think since the band is recorded everynight anyway, CBS could make it available for paid download without doing CDs. Wouldn't you love to hear them play for more than 0:04 going into a break?

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Thanks Amy! As always, it's a pleasure to get the opportunity to hang with the folks who frequent the Lowdown. Meeting Tom Capasso, Mark Zeger, TNB, Sweet Willie, Mike Dimin, Wraub, Getz76 and others made the day all that much more enjoyable.

 

The gear on hand was tremendous. The MTD basses were like buttah! Michael Tobias was on hand for the entire day. I also had a bit of fun with Line 6's version of the V-Bass. Very cool. It's an awesome concept, but when I used the synth bass sound it didn't track quite so well. I'm sure it'll get better with some trial and error from the guys at Line 6. I definitely dug the 8/12 string sound. I was also VERY happy to get some of the free swag on hand. Dean Markley was giving out free strings, including Blue Steel bass strings. Although I have to admit I was very surprised to hear that their rep thought that a 4 string set of Blue Steel strings for bass should cost $40.

 

The highlight for me had to be the performances. Doug Wimbish was like a tornado whipping through the room with some of his Tackhead material. He played his pedalboard like it was a whole other instrument from his bass. And it was more than a little satisfying to see someone using as many effects as he does to create some new sounds. I thought I had been on to SOMETHING! ;D Also appearing on the stage in the main exhibit room was Adrian Belew of King Crimson fame. Oh my! I wish I'd known he was going to be there because I really would have liked to have gotten at least one of my Crimson albums signed. Across from the stage was the MTD/EA booth where Mike Dimin was holding court. Not only was Mike really nice to all of the Lowdowners in attendance, but he put on a great display of what a solo bassist can do with a lot of talent and some loops of himself. He played some awesome solos riffing over Stevie Wonder's "I Wish". I also got the chance to catch Bakithi Kumalo's session on African rhythms. What an education! It all really boiled down to the fact that so many tribes in Africa have their own musical language that extends into their own grooves. It was also great to hear Bakithi's story of how he made his way forward as a player, starting at age 7 and then hitting it big when Paul Simon arrived in South Africa to record Graceland. Now if I can only remember the Cameroonian groove he was playing!

 

I have to say that I regret not getting into Ron Carter's session. The room was just not capable of handling everyone who wanted to see him though. But the upside may have been seeing guys like Will Lee and Dave Ellefson walk around so non-chalantly.

 

Enough of my running off at the keyboard. I have to get to the studio!

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"My concern is, and I have to, uh, check with my accountant, that this might bump me into a higher, uh, tax..."

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My apologies for the quality of the pics here - "point-and-shoot" somehow doesn't always work.

 

Revised photo album

MP Live! pics

 

First, I'll be writing a post (as well as email) about the event. I didn't think it was as good as last year.

 

That said, it was a great opportunity to hang with Brian Fox, Jon Hererra, and Bill Leigh. Local MP guy Joe McDonough was quite welcoming, as were the publisher folks Vicki and Valerie (did they do that on purpose?).

 

You'll see in a minute that it was a particularly interesting weekend for me, but the highlight is always the cool people. That starts with the Low Down. You've seen the names above - it was special that tnb and Mark Zeger were in town. Hanging with Fred, Wraub, Maury, Nick, Willie, and meeting Mike D - that was very cool. :cool:

 

the Friday hang was great. Jimmy Coppola (Bass Boutique) brought one of his hand-made instruments - very sweet. Jimmy is moving his focus away from retail and more to building (with repair always there - Maury and I have both had work done). And various talent-types were hanging around. I got to talk to Will Lee for a few minutes. Adrian Belew came in to introduce his bassist Mike to us all, and as Mike slid down the line, I was left talking to Adrian. What a nice guy! I am not very familiar with his stuff, but we just hung out and made me feel like we were just having a great time.

 

I enjoyed talking with Lloyd from Tech21, Kevin from Godlyke, Scott from GenzBenz, and the guy from Dean Markley (sorry - I never get his name). That guy always (I saw him last year as well) starts out with the understanding that he's giving stuff away, and he knows his stuff. He tends to have only 4-string sets, so my EB-3 will be sporting Dean Markleys again this year. All of these guys were cool. Sadly, some of the other vendors were doing half price sales (which isn't so bad, but I'd like the strings for free) or selling just below street. On Sunday I got the Backbeat book on Cream for half.

 

I went to the songwriter's workshop with Lisa Loeb. I'm a fan, but she is so smart, funny, and warm that I'm more of a fan now. She also has lots of great ideas, which I wrote down and hope to use (I don't write too much). She plays guitar VERY well, and her voice (unamplified in the clinic room) is excellent. And she is quite an attractive woman. It was a fine workshop!

 

After seeing what a cool person Adrian Belew is, I went to his clinic sponsored by Line6. They demonstrated an acoustic guitar that has 16 models built in. The Line6 guy was pretty interesting. He started speaking about how the sound is handled in the guitar - real technical stuff. Adrian quips "I love it when he talks like that". I predict the next band Adrian is in will be called Magnetic Aperature - that phrase kept being repeated because it sounded so cool. Adrian's playing was (no surprise) excellent!

 

I must say - the concert was not that hot as a complete show. They had some kids start it off - the School of Rock All-stars. It seemed like there was some bad mixing in the room (could barely hear the bass). They were clearly well trained - they started off with 21st Century Schizoid Man. I very much enjoyed Larry Carlton, Adrian Belew, Robben Ford, Lisa Loeb, and Rob Burnett. John Mayer walked on to play guitar with Burnett for a song (fairly well from what I could tell). But most artists did one or two songs. i felt like it never got going.

 

The presentations were very warm, but the one for Les Paul was a trip. That dude still has his wit at 90. After they gave him the plaque, Mike from Guitar Player told him they had one more surprise for him. Les said "not now - I have to put this award up on ebay".

 

Today I got to see TM Stevens - twice. What a lot of fun. I even got to chat for a bit while the stage was being set up - a cool, regular guy. He believes in making music the old fashioned way. You can't sit still when TM is funk'n it.

 

More later...

Tom

www.stoneflyrocks.com

Acoustic Color

 

Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars and keep your feet on the ground. - Theodore Roosevelt

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I've told part of this story before, but Michael Tobias expanded it for me.

 

Some years back, my daughter was dating a guy in a band. The band was doing their own CD, and she was taking pictures. I asked her if she recognized anything about what the bass player was using - expecting to hear the word "Fender". She said "some cousin in his family works with wood and made the bass". I'm thinking - this band is going nowhere with homemade equipment. I ask what the bass player's name is - she says "Jeff Tobias". I started gagging - rightfully so - Jeff has an MTD American.

 

Michael got a kick out of hearing that, but he filled it in. It seems that Mike's cousin asked for the bass as a gift for Jeff. Mike said to her "you know what you are asking for?" She said yes, and Mike extended his generousity to his family. Jeff's parents are both teachers and (naturally) value eduacation. When Jeff quit college to go on the road with his band We Versus The Shark, the mother blamed Mike for giving him the bass !!

 

And those basses. oh my. I always loved them, but thought the sound a bit too brittle. Mike said they have made some electronics changes that have slightly softened this, but (wisely) reminded me that you can dial the brittleness out - you can't bring it back if it isn't there to start with. Talking to Mike is such a great education because he shares his rich experience.

 

Tom

www.stoneflyrocks.com

Acoustic Color

 

Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars and keep your feet on the ground. - Theodore Roosevelt

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First, I changed where the pics were kept - Willie said he couldn't see them.

 

Two guys I forgot (hard to imagine with all that writing) to talk about. One was Dave Bryce. Dave is the former Keyboard Corner moderator. He's gone off to more harmonic pastures, but still stops by. He was at the show working for Dave Smith (inventor of the Prophet 5). I'd never met him, so we sat and chatted a bit. One time I stopped by and he was playing something very pretty. I told him I'd be impressed if he played the piano part from Genesis' Firth Of Fifth. Yeah - I'm a stinker, because it's a pretty complicated bit. And yes folks - I was impressed! Dave launched into it without a second thought. Scary good, that Bryce guy :thu:

 

Peavey and Trace Elliot now are related. On Friday (at the BP cocktail hour) and Saturday (in the demo room), we had the chance to listen to Paul Stevens. Paul is an old Trace guy from the pre-Gibson days. Now that the company has been re-invigorated, Paul can again talk about TE amps with the joy of a parent - he is one of the design team. One of the interesting things about TE is that they use a graphic EQ, but don't evenly lay out the controls. I probably won't get this exactly right, but there are more sliders for the bass end, which kind of overlaps some frequencies, and fewer sliders for the higher end - more like a regular graphic. The amp has a great range of tones - from clean solid state, to a bit tubey, to overdrive. I can understand why he's proud. The amps go into production this week. No one there could tell me a price - that's how new they are.

 

Tom

www.stoneflyrocks.com

Acoustic Color

 

Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars and keep your feet on the ground. - Theodore Roosevelt

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I finally made it to an event and and I am hooked. Basses, amps, our esteemed colleagues from the LDL (seriously, I have never met a finer group of guys), stuff, stuff and more stuff.

 

Can't wait until the next one.

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Hey all,

 

It was truly a pelasure to meet you all. It is always nice to put a face to a name. Better when everyone is so genuine. It was a pretty cool event, although a bit loud, especially since we were right across from the stage. There were some really great moments, like getting to teach Will Lee about the Boomerang and then playing for him while he and Benny Rietveld sang. Or getting to show Gerald Veasly about my chordal technique and him having some very positive comments. I got to jam with Jonathan H from BP- he is a really wonderful player.

 

BTW, the young woman hanging around the show, who really tore it up is Tal Wilkenfeld. Tal is from Australia and is 20 years old (she only looks much younger). She is a Sadowsky endorser. She has been hanging around the EA booth at NAMM for a few years now. She is very endearing.

 

Mike

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To the previous posters, nice feedback on MPL and nice pics too.

 

I wanted to add one thing that I forgot to add to my other post in a separate thread that I mistakenly started ( here ):

 

One more suggestion for next year:

I wish I had a chance to try out an MTD bass and the EA stuff, but the booth was very small and hard to get access to. Every trip I made back there to make an attempt to try something, there were small mobs of people that were in the way. MTD and EA is excellent stuff and need to be in a better spot. A curious & potential customer (me) is still just that at this point. Maybe next year.

"And you run and you run to catch up with the sun, but it's sinking" Roger Waters
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Originally posted by a1bassguy:

To the previous posters, nice feedback on MPL and nice pics too.

 

I wanted to add one thing that I forgot to add to my other post in a separate thread that I mistakenly started ( here ):

 

One more suggestion for next year:

I wish I had a chance to try out an MTD bass and the EA stuff, but the booth was very small and hard to get access to. Every trip I made back there to make an attempt to try something, there were small mobs of people that were in the way. MTD and EA is excellent stuff and need to be in a better spot. A curious & potential customer (me) is still just that at this point. Maybe next year.

I wish you had been more assertive. We would have loved to let you try some stuff out. We did have a small booth and were sharing it 3 ways (MTD, EA and Jodi Head). Unfortunately, 3 days in NYC gets pretty pricey when you're a relatively small company. Those mobs were probably LD (capasso, wraub, nicklab, etc) guys anyway :D

 

Mike

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Originally posted by Mike Dimin:

BTW, the young woman hanging around the show, who really tore it up is Tal Wilkenfeld. Tal is from Australia and is 20 years old (she only looks much younger). She is a Sadowsky endorser. She has been hanging around the EA booth at NAMM for a few years now. She is very endearing.

 

Thank you for that info, Mike.

 

Also, I've begun doing some of the exercises from the Chordal Approach, Vol. I that I bought from you at the event. It's great. It's giving me a different way to approach the instrument as well as helping me with some theoretical foundations. Well done!

 

Peace.

--SW

spreadluv

 

Fanboy? Why, yes! Nordstrand Pickups and Guitars.

Messiaen knew how to parlay the funk.

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She's 20??? Oh, that makes the spankin' she handing out a little easier to take :rolleyes:

 

Mike Dimin - you're a bad, bad man.

 

a1bassguy - sorry I was hogging up so much of the MTD booth. It was for a worthy cause. I talked to Mike Tobias 2 hours ago. The check will be in the mail by morning.

 

To all - I'm getting a new bass!!!

 

And the wife says it's ok.

 

When is the next NAMM show???

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